1. Visa scam

This takes place at the land borders between Cambodia and Thailand. Although you will not even have entered the country yet, this is very definitely a Cambodian scam.

While in the queue to obtain a visa from the Cambodian immigration authorities, you may be approached by people posing as Cambodian immigration officials.

They will offer to get your visa for you so that you don’t have to wait. However, this will cost much more.

An extension of this scam involves “officials” approaching you in line and telling you that you don’t have the correct documentation.

They also claim that you need to provide medical documents and immunization certificates. If you don’t have them, they can help facilitate the visa for you, again for a higher price.

Note: since late 2016, children require a visa (free in the past) as well, unless he / she has a Cambodian parent.

What to do:

If you are approached when you are in line, the people in question are almost certainly not officials working for Cambodian Immigration.

Do not engage and only deal with the real officials at the immigration counter.

A tip is to say that you already have a visa and are just waiting to get your passport stamped.

2. Coin collectors

Image source: thespruce.com

How it works:

This is one of the most common scams in Cambodia and takes place at tourist hot spots.

This involves a friendly local who starts chatting with you and explains that he is an avid coin collector.

He will first establish where you come from. Then, he claims not to have any coins from your country and would love to have some to complete his collection.

They will offer to exchange these for Cambodian currency and promise to give you a fair rate. In reality however, they will be using a very bad rate.

What to do:

Politely explain that you have just changed all your money and only have local currency.

3. Scam orphanages

How it works:

Do you know that over the past 5 years, the number of orphanages in Cambodia has risen by 75%?

Actually, 75% of the children here are not orphans! These orphanages exploit poor families by claiming that their children can get free education and food there.

However, there are also children who are “rented” by these orphanages so that they can get donations from tourists.

In reality, most of the donations go to the owners of the orphanages. The children are also poorly treated and forced to act pitiful to attract donations.

What to do:

Do not visit or donate to these orphanages. If you really want to help, check out restaurants that take kids and teach them hospitality skills.

You can also stay in NGO accommodation which help to teach and encourage Cambodian youth.

Alternatively, donate to established charities.

4. Angkor Watt touts

Image source: seeyousoon.ca

How it works:

You will find tons of touts outside Angkor Watt. They sell guidebooks, maps, water, food, souvenir and what have you.

However, that is not the scam itself, the scam is the lies thrown about, such as

Claiming that the guidebook / map costs $20 when you can get it for $1 at the temple.

Insisting that no water or food is sold in the temple when there is.

What to do:

Decline.

5. Incense / prayer scam

Image source: moriachappell.com

How it works:

At Angkor Watt, do not accept incense sticks from anyone.

If you do, they will show you how to make a quick prayer, and then charge you $5 for each stick.

What to do:

Firmly reject.

6. Tonle Sap floating village rice scam

How it works:

Tonle Sap is Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake and you can find 3 floating villages on the lake.

Most tourists are brought to the Chong Khneas floating village as it is the closest to Siem Reap. This village is a tourist trap and scam.

During the boat tour, you will encounter other boats pulling up and asking for one dollar. These are usually asked by a kid with a water snake around them. They hold the snake up you to you, which could be a ploy to intimidate you to pay.

After a while, the boat driver will claim that the community here is so poor that they cannot afford proper food and safe water. He then suggests buying food or stationery for them.

You will be brought to a shop and be pressured to buy rice, noodles, books or pencils, etc for the local school at crazy prices (e.g. $50-$100).

What really happens is that these items will not be given to the kids. Rather, they will be returned to the shop with the “donation” shared amongst the scammers.

And when the tour ends, tips will be demanded.

The whole thing is a tourist trap as well, as there isn’t much to see and you might be scammed further (e.g. paying an inflated price for entrance tickets).

What to do:

Don’t waste your time and money.

If you really want to see floating villages, catch them in Vietnam instead, or engage a licensed, reputable tour operator via:

TourRadar: all the best multi-day tours by established names like Intrepid Travel, G Adventures, Trafalgar, etc can be found here with best price guarantee.

Klook: best day tours platform in Asia – excellent curation of tours, tickets and vehicle transfer with best price guarantee.

Your hotel / hostel affiliated tour operator: reliable but generally not the best or cheapest.

7. Snatch theft

How it works:

Generally, there are two versions of snatch thefts – strike and run, or distract and grab, in many possible contexts:

Bikes / mopeds riding past, with a pillion rider doing the snatch.

Snatching from behind you, then running into a getaway car to escape.

At restaurants, stealing unattended bags / valuables on the chair or table.

Other transportation: choose reputable operators for boats and inter-city buses.

E. GETTING HELP

1. Emergency numbers to call

Image source: scmp.com

Police: 117

Fire service: 118

Ambulance: 119

Tourist Police – Phnom Penh: 012 942 484

Tourist Police – Siem Reap: 012 402 424

Join the community!

Get protected!

7 Comments

Mukesh Chander Mishra
on May 16, 2018 at 6:25 am

Hi all I find new scam her in PNH like if some massage parlor gives to discount and they returned your 100$ note returned to you it means it could be changed with duplicate note be careful. It happens with me yesterday night on 15/05/2018. Go with your change money.

A scam I fell victim to Riverside in Phnom Pehn, the cheap $5 massage shop asks you to leave your bag in a specific place, behind your vision. The massage comes with allot of loud slapping. Meanwhile they are going through your bag, only taking your large currency notes but leaving one of each. I guess if they got caught they could argue that you must have spent the others. This happened to me in two separate $5 massage shops before I realised the scam.

I “loved” Cambodia when I went there first time as an NGO three years ago…Made some good friends.

So, I decided to go back after couple of months privately.
I stayed there nearly one month, met a girt at “shopping mall”. She smiled and asked about me… Shortly, we became “friends”. After few days, “very close friends”.

She took me to her “village home”, introduced her “family”, who can’t speak any “English”.
They were so good to me, offered drinks and food, treated like a “family member”. When I asked her why, she replied that she said to her family “you are my boyfriend”. She was young, beautiful, and I am a divorced person…I got excited!

Make it short, we were in touch and I went to her more than 6 times again. At my last visit, she asked me to get “married”. I was more than happy that I can have such a young and beautiful girl as my wife. She asked me to have a “wedding ceremony”.

We prepared for “wedding ceremony”, done at pagoda with her family and close friends. Next day big “party”, with 1000 guests.

On the whole, I paid more than 10000USD to her “MOM” a Cambodian “tradition”!

After few happy days, came back here because of my work.
Since that, can’t contact her as she “BLOCKED” me on all platforms!

Are those Chris Farley “quotes?” So maybe I have “poor hygiene!” Maybe I don’t “follow your rules!” Maybe my armpits “sweat profusely!” But tbh post divorce third world wedding scam is the worst. I had a “similar thing” happen to me although it was my own fault in the United States. Not really the same same but different.

The friendly person asking where you are from only to tell you a sister is about to study back in your country, and invites you back to meet the family— wow– this happened to me in Bangkok, and reason I never followed through with the invite, was bc it was actually New Years Eve, and I wanted to go out and party, not visit some out of the way family… lucky me..